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Mordred
The man known as "Dr. Mordred" was an extremely dangerous serial killer, one of the most feared in the country. It was said that Mordred had no family (though he referred to his absentee parents at one point), and that he killed without motive or remorse. Mordred wore a mask that covered his face. At some point in the past, Mordred had suffered an injury to his face that had required extensive reconstructive surgery. Despite this, he had an extremely gruesome appearance and was allowed to wear a mask that covered his face and mouth while in police custody. His eyes were only visible through narrow slits. Escorting Mordred Mordred encountered Dick Tracy when then-Chief of Police Lizz notified Tracy that he was being assigned by the FBI to escort the masked doctor from the sheriff's office outside Tracy's city to the federal court, which was 52 miles away. Tracy met up with Mordred's police escort and took custody of the handcuffed, heavily-chained, and sedated Dr. Mordred. As a heavy storm was hitting, Tracy accidentally drove the car into a flooded area and the car sank into the flood waters. Using Mordred's chains, Tracy reluctantly saved the doctor's life by breaking open the window pane and swimming them both out of the sinking car. The Granary Out in the country, the severe rain drastically impeded Tracy and Mordred's progress while simultaneously erasing any tracks they made (making them impossible for authorities to find). Soon, Mordred and Tracy took refuge in an old granary on a nearby farm. Tracy's Wrist Geenee was useless due to interference from the storm. As the flood waters rose, Tracy and Mordred moved to the upper floors of the granary. A struggle ensued between Tracy and Mordred. Mordred tried to choke Tracy with one hand and the chain. Tracy pulled out his gun and Mordred retreated. Tracy and Mordred then engaged in a long, tense stand-off, with Mordred taunting Tracy. This lasted for more than a day, with neither man sleeping. Meanwhile, Sam Catchem went out on his own and drove in the storm to look for Tracy, fearing the worst. As Tracy was about to collapse from exhaustion, he and Mordred were beset by hundred of rats that had invaded the granary, fleeing the flood waters. Tracy was able to hold off some of the rats with his pistol, but Mordred (who had a pathological fear of rats) was attacked by the creatures. Tracy finally got a signal on his Wrist Genee as the granary was about to collapse. Tracy tried to get Mordred to jump out of the collapsing building, but Mordred was paralyzed by his fear of the rats. Tracy jumped from the granary just as Sam arrived. Mordred's remains were found in the rubble by Tracy. Mordred's Legacy Mordred would be mentioned a few years later when Junior and Honeymoon went to the Granary to get some pictures of it for a photo book that Junior was assembling. There, they encountered the amnesiac Sparkle Plenty and Mysta Chimera on the Wheaten's farm, which was located nearby. Notes * Mordred was never shown in the strip without his mask. * It is not known what kind of doctorate Mordred held, if any. * The name "Mordred" was apparently inspired by the villain from Arthuran legend who led to the downfall of Camelot. This was obliquely referred to early in the Dr. Mordred storyline. * At the conclusion of the Dr. Mordred storyline, Tracy got a call from Dick Locher praising him for 32 years of service, marking the end of Locher's tenure as the cartoonist for Dick Tracy before Joe Staton and Mike Curtis took over as the creative team. * The Mordred story line moved at an extremely slow pace, spanning 4 months. Many of the daily strips repeated action or dialogue, and Sunday strips repeated themselves with events apparently taking place out of order compared to the daily strips. Category:Deceased Category:Villains